Monthly Dinner

It was our turn to host the (mostly) monthly dinner. It wasn't that warm (though you wouldn't know that from Mia's refusal to wear a coat), but the kids did get to enjoy the sunshine in the back yard before eating.

Maddie's Birthday Party

Our next door neighbor Maddie had a Princesses and Knights 3rd birthday party. It was a morning party so we had a doughnut instead of birthday cake, played some games, read some stories, and then headed to the Chinquapin soft playroom.

I was most impressed with Maddie's mom's ability to get so many kids to sit down at the same time for princess stories.

CJ's First Steps

CJ has taken his first steps! I have no pictures or video, but I thought it worth a mention all the same. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we get some photographic evidence.

Taid's Birthday

We headed over to Nina and Taid's on a beautiful Saturday to celebrate Taid's birthday. We had a fantastic time playing in the yard and Mia especially appreciated getting to help blow out the candles.

(CJ found his favorite toy inside: the dog's water dish!)

First Tooth

You can't really see inside CJ's mouth, but he has finally cut his first tooth and a second is on its way.


For reference, this is exactly the same time that Mia got her first tooth as well.

Easter "Egg" Hunt

Easter was pretty relaxed this year. We just spent the day hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma. They did decide to get a bit creative with the kids' Easter "egg" hunt and use colored golf balls instead of eggs to hide in the yard. Mia loved finding the eggs and helping her brother a bit, too. So much so, that she didn't have any time to bother with Daddy's attempts to get some photos of her finding the "eggs."

Mountain Drive

Now that Daddy has arrived, we thought we'd try to go hiking in the mountains. We drove up into the mountains, but Mia got car sick so no hiking was to be had. The drive was fantastic and helped you really appreciate the valley that Tucson is in. We were also amazed at the Saguaro cactus forests as we drove up and how they turned into pine forests covered in snow as we reached the top at 8,000 feet.

Tucson Zoo

Before Daddy arrived, Grandma and Grandpa took us to see the Tucson Zoo. Mia became riveted by the giraffes. We had no idea that she loved giraffes so much, but we had to keep on going back to see them and tear her away at the end.

Tucson

Grandma and Grandpa moved to Tucson in January so we decided to go visit them for Easter. Mom, Mia, and CJ flew out early and Dad followed a few days later. The kids did great on the planes and Mom was very happy that there were some very nice people to help get on and off the planes.

We had a great time enjoying the desert, especially seeing all the plants and wildlife.

Being a Big Sister Means...

Being a big sister means helping your brother learn how to walk...



Mia and CJ did this for quite a while after school yesterday, but I sadly only thought to get it on video when they were getting tired of the game.

*Sorry about the video quality, but this was taken on my iPhone.

Oh What A Beautiful Day

We could not have asked for a more beautiful Sunday.

We played outside after church.

And then headed to Nina and Taid's for dinner. We even got to eat outside!

My Ball

"Where is my ballllllll? I can't find my balllllll."

"Do youuu know where my ball is?"

"Please help me find my ball."
(Notice pitiful remaining tear on left cheek.)

"There you are ball. I missed you so much. I'll never let you out of my sight again. "

Current Events

Here's just a nice shot of Mia getting the latest current events with Dad.

Future Olympian

Well, if they decide to add an 8 mo old chair walking competition, then CJ has it in the bag.




...unless he comes across a rug.

Dress Up Fun

Fun in the Snow

Mia's got to live up this snow while she can. Who knows if she'll ever see this much snow again!

Buried & more coming

The storm started around noon on Friday and brought 6-8 inches by bedtime; respectable, but not bad. This morning, we woke up to about 16 inches and another 6-8 are predicted. Oh dear...

Mia's Update

Mia hasn't been up for photographs much, but here are some recent cute ones. She loves school and playing with her brother. Her favorite game is Dora Memory, though she not so good about letting you take your own turn and is pretty good at remembering where all the cards are.

She has become obsessed with robes. She got one for Christmas, but insists on also wearing one that Nina and Taid got CJ.

She also really enjoys watching the snow fall. She's a big fan of winter. We're not sure how to break it to her that this is a very, very unusual winter for here and she's not likely to see this much snow again until she goes to college and chooses someplace in the north.

CJ's Update

Yes, it has been a very long time since we've posted new pictures, but life has gotten a little crazy. Here are some recent pictures of our crazy little man, CJ. He's really fast at crawling, wants to stand all the time, and cruises or uses chairs and the like to push himself along standing.

Daddy was able to get a few shots of him actually sitting still.



Then, Jabber came to visit while Nina and Taid went on a trip. CJ and Jabber are very close and Jabber is very well behaved with him. CJ can even grab toys out of the dog's mouth and he doesn't even flinch!

He did protest with some whining when CJ tried to invade Jabber's personal space in his crate.

Buying New Baby Cards in Bulk

This week, we welcomed two new friends into the world. This week's set seem to go together so well, they could have been twins!

First, Charlotte Ann was born on February 2nd to our River friends Mary and Dave. Charlotte is joining an ever-growing list of children of Mommy's friends from Thousand Island Park. We hope to be able to see them this summer and have a nice little reunion!

Next, Claire Evelyn was born on February 4th to our friends Susan and Matt. Susan and Mommy went to college together and have followed each other to various cities around the country. They still live in San Francisco so we're hoping they eventually wise up and move to DC! (Though, we're not holding our breaths, sadly.) We can't wait until we get to meet Claire!!